Temper
by newts
Summary: That one where Steve Rogers takes a reporter to the ground for calling Tony a slur.


_A drabble I wrote for a prompt Silver gave me that ended up not matching the prompt at all. I think its humorous though so I hope people enjoy it._

If anyone knew Steve Rogers, they were well aware that he was no longer the small, fighter he'd been at age 17. Gaining muscle mass in no way meant that he'd still morally support a physical confrontation. His childhood best friend was hurt because of this previous attitude and Steve felt that he owed his change in mindset primarily to this incident. From that point on the tall blond decided to ignore men who were looking for a fight. He owed that much to his old friend, as well as his friend's family.

So when a reporter with a camera slung around his throat shouted, "Is it true that you're a fag now?" at his colleague, Tony Stark of Stark Industries, even Steve was astonished to find that he'd grabbed the man and taken him to the ground.

The sound of an expensive camera shattering on pavement startled the group of people around the Stark Art Gallery (Bar and Grill) into a dead silence.

The halt in all noise around Steve plus the added realization that everything was moving far slower than he remembered fights moving felt nothing less than alarming. To make matters worse, the reporter was no longer caught off guard but now aiming a fist at him. Steve's eyes charted the movement, and he caught the throw with his left hand.

As if their hands connecting was a stage Que, stunned silence turned into a wave of noise, and the panicked sounds of an outraged crowd reached the ears of Tony, who had turned around with a reply hanging on his tongue. He made eye contact with Steve and the snarky comment died in his throat. Tony took in the site of the taller blond, who was currently grappling a reporter to the ground. At least Steve had the decency to look towards Tony, ashamed.

But the glance was cut short by the man below Steve punching him with his free hand. Hard.

Steve's world momentarily spun. Admitting defeat, he tried to put space between himself and his opponent but the man wasn't done yet. The reporter had noticed his shattered camera and as he grabbed one of the blond's shoulders, with a shaky laugh, Steve acknowledged that he was most likely going to be hit again.

"Up!"

Today was not going as it should have. Tony was supposed to be treating Steve to lunch at his company's newest expansion. He was to visit with Pepper Potts, who ran this branch. It had been a long time since they'd seen her.

"I said, get UP!"

The reporter's weight was suddenly missing and Steve began to process this sudden change.

"Both of your asses up! Now!"

Steve, in his haze, hadn't realized that a security guard was yelling at him. The voice was rough but sounded young. After standing up (with the help of security) Steve and the reporter were marched towards the front entrance of the gallery, followed by a very angry Pepper Potts who had shown up seemingly out of thin air. Tony was at the front, unreadable as a crowd of reporters parted for him.

After a short and extremely awkward elevator ride, the security guard walked Steve into a hallway, pushing them through what appeared to be office doors. This was not how Steve had imagined his tour of the new building going.

The security guard closed the doors behind himself and stared the reporter into a chair next to a small desk. Tony sat at the other end, the expression on his face meaning business.

"You. With me." The security guard took the crook of Steve's arm and moved him towards another room, an off-shoot of the main room. Pepper went through the door first and Steve audibly swallowed as she motioned towards the chair across from her own desk. So this was her office.

Sitting down across from her felt ridiculous, like he was a child about to be scolded. Like he was her ex-boyfriend, the very person he'd just publicly taken a guy to the ground for.

"Steve Rogers what were you thinking-what-" She rubbed her temple, cutting herself off in a sudden wave of apparent exhaustion. After a moment of quiet thought she turned her gaze on him again, making an effort to regain professionalism. "Please, Mr. Rogers, sit. Its okay. Just-just sit."

It wasn't half as bad as he'd anticipated. Pepper didn't scold him again. Rather, she offered him Pear infused water (which he declined) and produced a first aid kit.

"We're just waiting for Tony to finish up and then I can talk to him about this, too." She sat on her desk dabbing at a cut under his eye.

"With all do respect, ma'am, I'm not entirely sure Tony should be talked to. That reporter-."

"Steven, I know." She turned a sharp eye towards him as if saying, "you're both grown men and this is not the principle's office."

There was a short, but no less awkward silence as she administered antibacterial gel and a band-aid to the cut.

"Between you and me, I'm not happy with what that reporter said to Tony, either."

Steve was caught off guard by Pepper's sudden honesty but he nodded anyway, deciding he might as well be honest, too.

"For the record, I'm not happy with how I handled that situation. Its been a long time since I fought someone. About ten years, actually. I don't support that kind of violence anymore. But that man, what he said was amoral. It was meant to hurt Tony."

It was Pepper's turn to nod.

"It was." she agreed.

They shared a knowing glance that was quickly broken by a stony faced Tony slamming the door open.

"Well?" Pepper stood, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well...He's paid off. Won't be pressing charges." Pepper visibly relaxed at this. "But he won't be allowed on Stark property any time soon, either."

At this addition, Steve also relaxed. It was important to him that Tony didn't just pay the guy for calling him a slur. As if sensing the change in mood, the brunette turned his attention on Steve, breaking into a grin.

"Now that this is cleaned up, Steve, can I just say that you kicked ass? Well, actually, until he decided to hit you back anyways but you looked good for the first 20 sec-"

"Tony!" The tall red-head looked like she wanted to give him a long talking to after all, but she settled for sitting down behind her desk in a huff. Pepper closed the first aid kit with a sharp snap and, with one hand, she ushered the men out of her office. "Mr. Rogers, don't beat anyone else up on your way to the Grill, please. And Tony-Happy is a great body guard. Start utilizing his services. Thank you."


End file.
